“There’s a 50-50 chance that Apple will introduce new form factor multi-touch devices at its developers conference next week, ushering the company into the ultra-mobile computing space, one Wall Street analyst says,” Slash Lane reports for AppleInsider.
“‘We believe there is a 50% chance that a new form factor will be introduced, marking Apple’s entrance into the emerging ‘MID’ or mobile internet device market,’ American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a report to clients Thursday. ‘Our sources indicate 4-inch and 7-inch touchscreen devices beyond prototype stage that are a cross between a Mac and iPod touch,'” Lane reports.
“Wu hedges his bets somewhat on an introduction at next week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, explaining that ‘exact timing of production isn’t clear.’ He added, however, that he believes ‘it is inevitable that Apple will bring more touchscreen devices to market’ that will further leverage its trademark multi-touch technology first introduced on the iPhone,” Lane reports. “More certain is the analyst on Apple’s iPhone-related announcements for the conference… At least two new models of the touch-screen handset will make an appearance, including a much anticipated version that will run on so-called 3G networks for $399 to $499, in addition to a revised 2.5G version that will sell for $50 to $100 less than today.”
Full article here.
No they won’t.
yes the ‘king will
I don’t know what kind of market there is for these larger screens, but I want Apple to do it for one main reason: It will make Windows 7 look downright stupid two years before its release.
In the meantime, I don’t know if it’ll be a lucrative market to be in or not. What I do know is that Apple is the company to build this market and make it lust-worthy.
If not now, Apple, do it soon. Maybe by the Fall?
Wow! 50% predictions… way to go out on a limb there dumbass. There’s a higher than 50-50 chance these expert analysts are simply trying to hold onto their jobs by making predictions so obvious that there’s no way they could be wrong. Amazing. No, actually its pathetic that this lame-ass prediction gets reported and then repeated.
Will it run Mac OS X or the iPhone OS?
Pretty much what I have been saying for a long while.
In the world of computing – the differentiating factor from one OS to another shall be Multi-Touch. Others will fallow, but, remember who brought it to the masses first.
Innovation is not Inventing.
Still hoping the iJesture is the utlra-portable/multi-touch/mouse/keybooard device.
– dougless
(BTW – mdn – you have been blocking me – why?)
Mhmmm… in a case of “will” or “won’t”, considering there are two possible options, then the chances of either happening is 50%. So what did this article tell us that we didn’t already know? lol
68% of all statistics and odds are made up on the spot.
It’s all about timing. Apple is two steps ahead of every company cuz they own the software and the hardware making them in unison. We all know that. everybody else has to adapt to what ms, linux, ubutuu(whatever) puts out making it more difficult to make it flawless or even close to. I’d be amazed if they announce it at WWDC rather than a smaller show at the apple campus like they did with the new iMac models last year.
I don’t see Apple making what would essentially be a larger screen iPod touch… The iPod touch & iPhone has the capability to zoom and scroll for a reason… So they don’t need to make bigger versions.
It isn’t a logical move by any means, and it will just cannibalize iPod touch & iPhone sales. Any who really needs one of these when you’ve got an iPhone / touch? “Mobile” means put it in your pocket. Apple’s definition of “Ultra Mobile Computer” is a computer you can put in your pocket.
These analysts think like Gateway or Dell do… If either of them had this technology, you would see 10 different sizes and everyone confused as which one to buy… And selling one million of them would mean producing 100,000 of each.
That’s not how Apple thinks. Compared to the iPhone / touch, this device is not an innovative improvement, it’s a step backwards. A step that Apple won’t take.
Dougrest: BTW – mdn – you have been blocking me – why?)
maybe it has something to do with your difficulty differentiating between “follow” and “fallow”, or the fact that “jesture” is not a word.
on topic: i would use this thing as a document reader, and for on-the-go email, web and light text work, as well as for video while on the stairmaster. I wouldn’t use this to replace my iPod though.
JF wrote, “Wow! 50% predictions… way to go out on a limb there dumbass.”
No MDN comment. Hmmm, perhaps MDN doesn’t comprehend the higher math.
There’s a psychic chicken nicknamed Cluster Clucker in a roadside stand on Route 9 next to the old Dairy Queen (it’s right under the Prescription Strength Cruex Spray Powder billboard) that agrees. Best fifty cents you’ll spend today.
The earliest intro would be MWSF 09.
It’s a Developers conference, ie.; software.
There’s actually either a 0% chance or a 100% chance, it’s already been determined. Only Apple’s inner circle knows which is correct. I’m betting on 0%.
That said, a web-centric Multi-Touch tablet would cover most of my computer needs, and a lot of other people’s too. I’ve always reckoned fully fledged computers are unnecessary for most people.
Still, this is a developers conference, and the focus will likely be on iPhone apps rather than new hardware (even moreso than the iPhone itself; iPhone 2.0 is all about the software).
More bullshit analists. Asshats will say anything to get a click.
You guys, shut the fcuk up for a few days.
“Others will fallow . . .”
So, the next Zune will come in a yellowish-brown as well.
It’s certainly possible. While the developer’s conference is primarily about software, what better time and place to get developers excited about writing new apps for new devices ?
Time will tell.
60% of the time, it works all the time
Gotta love the Apple rumour mill… It it absolutely fascinating to watch the blogosphere whip itself up into a frenzy over this; and it of course only happens to Apple!
Tablets have failed miserably, despite Bill Gates’s obsession with them. He kept plugging them vigorously after XP came out, with zero success. This, however, doesn’t tell us anything about the viability of the idea; it only tells us that Microsoft sucks, which we had known already.
If tablet as a concept (and especially the internet tablet) is in fact a viable concept, Apple will be the only one to prove that.
I for one can see how it could find its use. There are many of us with MacBooks in our living room, sitting on our end tables. We use them to google stuff up while watching TV, or to read newspapers, magazines, or whatever, while lying on the couch. Tablet would probably be better for that stuff than a MacBook. If properly done, and properly marketed, the tablet has potential for success.
At this point, though, it’s just another entertaining rumour.
@JAYGEE :
“Will it run Mac OS X or the iPhone OS?”
The iPhone OS is OSX.
I thought there was a 10% chance that I’m gay. Now I’m a little worried, maybe it’s a 50% chance.
I’ll know on Monday
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
I’d like to see a larger iPod touch style device in the range of a 7-10″ wide screen format with 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4 or 8GB), 120 to 320GB SATA 2.5″ Hard drive, 2-4 USB ports, 400 & 800 Firewire ports, HDMI (or DVI) video out, Audio Out, Built-in iSight, BlueTooth, IR, Wi-Fi 802.11N, an express card slot for EVDO type data network card support or other types of cards and even perhaps a GPS.
The chances that Apple making such a device in the next few years is slim to none, though I can see it being the future of the UM Computer. If Apple did make it, it would sell and would define a new type of device category. Make a stripped down model with a card reader and Laser Bar Code Scanner for the perfect portable handheld POS device. Apple could use a few thousand of these themselves for the Apple Stores.
“… a 50-50 chance…” Wow, such insight.
there’s a 100% chance these “analysts” are just guessing. and yet they get headlines.
only difference between them and you or I is that they somehow get paid to guess. they really don’t know any more about Apple’s secret plans than anyone else outside the company or under NDA.
p.s. has anyone tallied up Mr Wu’s prediction success rate?